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Egypt and Eritrea Tighten Ties as Sudan’s Conflict Reshapes the Horn CAIRO — In a meeting that underscored shifting alliances across the Horn of Africa, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi this week publicly reaffirmed Cairo’s backing for Eritrea’s sovereignty and signaled a renewed push for deeper economic and strategic cooperation with Asmara. The talks, held in Cairo and attended by both countries’ foreign ministers, were framed by the Egyptian presidential office as an effort to bolster investment links and…

Djibouti’s Guelleh Calls for Somali Unity — While Quietly Extending His Own Rule Analysis At a commemorative ceremony steeped in the memory of the 2000 Arta Conference — the meeting that helped coax Somalia from state collapse toward a fragile transitional government — Djibouti’s President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh delivered a familiar message with a fresh edge. “Somalis, only you can rebuild your country,” he said, encouraging neighbors to rely on themselves rather than on foreign patrons. It was the kind of exhortation that…

Somalia’s Arta Anniversary: A Quiet Milestone Amid Deepening Political Strains When President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud touched down in Djibouti this week to mark the 25th anniversary of the Arta Peace Conference, the trip looked at first like a ceremonial reprise of a turning point in Somali history. Villa Somalia described the visit as a working engagement “at the invitation of H.E. President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh,” noting bilateral talks and participation in the commemoration of the 2000 conference that helped birth Somalia’s…

Somalia and Turkey Mark Republic Day — And a Partnership Forged in Crisis Mogadishu’s salute to a trusted ally Under the bright Mogadishu sun, a small crowd filtered into the Turkish Embassy’s courtyard on Wednesday, where Turkish and Somali flags hung side by side and a brass band played the familiar crescendos of national anthems. It was a moment at once ceremonial and deeply personal: Somalia joined Turkey in marking the 102nd anniversary of the Republic, with Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre calling the day “a shared…

Ethiopia’s lost coastline: Abiy’s legal claim, a diplomatic gamble and the region’s fragile future When Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed stood before Ethiopia’s parliament this week and declared that his country “lost access to the sea” under circumstances he now calls legally flawed, he was doing more than restating a grievance. He was reviving a central theme of modern Ethiopian politics: the economic and psychological toll of being landlocked in a region where control of ports can determine a nation’s fate. What the prime…

Between a Scholarship and a Closed Door: A Somali Student’s Long Wait for a Yes The calls stopped first. Then the messages. For 12 days, a Somali student who had won a coveted Erasmus Mundus scholarship waited for a residence permit to study in Denmark—only to learn, as so many young people with dreams find out, that the hardest borders are often the invisible ones. Ali Musa, a scholar who had secured full funding to study at the University of Copenhagen, found his plans stalled when Danish authorities denied his residence…

You are a senior international journalist. First, read the source news carefully and decide whether it is best written as: Breaking News → urgent, fast-moving event, immediate facts first. Feature Story → human, textured, on-the-ground narrative. Opinion/Analysis → reflective, interpretive, connecting events to wider trends. Based on the content, automatically choose the right style (don’t ask me to specify) and rewrite into an original piece for a global audience. Rules: Length: 700–1100 words depending on…

South West Somalia Tries to Turn Down the Temperature — Online and Off Somalia’s South West State is drawing a line against those it says are fanning inter-clan tensions from afar, announcing this week it will pursue legal action against people accused of inciting violence and revenge killings. The warning comes as local elders and administrators push a fragile peace deal in Diinsoor, a town in Bay region where recent clashes between armed militias ignited long-simmering grievances. “There are people outside the conflict…

Somali forces, backed by international partners, kill founding Al-Shabaab figure in Bu'ale raid BU'ALE, Somalia — Somali security forces announced Tuesday that they killed Jaafar Gurey, a senior founding member of the militant Islamist group Al-Shabaab, in a targeted operation in the southern town of Bu'ale, a bastion of the insurgency in Middle Jubba. The Defence Ministry said Gurey, who had worked closely with the group’s former leader Ahmed Abdi Godane and is believed to have ties to the current leader Ahmed Diriye, was…

Analysis: A diplomat’s lonely fight exposes a bigger test for Canada’s foreign service OTTAWA — The room was quiet when Madina Iltireh finished talking. She had just told a small crowd of former colleagues and friends what it felt like to represent Canada abroad while, she says, being made to feel she did not belong. “I was representing Canada, but Canada did not represent me,” she said softly, standing in a downtown Ottawa conference room. “I went through hell.” The hell she describes unfolded thousands of kilometres…